The Boy Scouts of America reports the number of stations taking part in the 2013 Jamboree On The Air (JOTA) was up by 33 percent to 271, although the number of Scouts reported on the air was down by 25 percent to nearly 14,000. All the statistics still may not be in, however.

“The number of stations that registered prior to the event hit a new record of 419, but quite a few just didn’t provide a report after the event,” said Jim Wilson, K5ND, the national JOTA organizer and chairman of the National Radio Scouting Committee. “So, we’re hopeful that the number of Scouts actually continued to increase.”

The number of Amateur Radio operators involved in JOTA 2013 rose from 1000 last year to nearly 1300 in 2013.

According to the JOTA report, some JOTA groups “made very creative use” of two contests on the air that weekend, taking part in the events — the Worked All Germany Contest and the New York QSO Party. “They essentially entered the contest, set up the exchange information, and allowed the Scouts to work rapid-fire contacts in full contest style.”

Worldwide last year, nearly 700,000 Scouts took part from more than 6000 Amateur Radio stations in 150 countries. The JOTA 2013 report and a summary video are available on the K2BSA Radio Scouting website.